Obama: All US Troops to Leave Iraq by Year's End
 
 
President Barack Obama has announced that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year. The announcement comes after intense negotiations with Iraq on extending the U.S. military presence there.
The president's announcement came after a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Obama said he reaffirmed that the U.S. keeps its commitments, while Mr. Maliki spoke of the Iraqi people's determination to forge their own future.

The president said he could now say definitively that the Iraq war is over. "Today I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," said Obama. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

Obama declared a formal end to U.S. combat operations last year. All U.S. forces were due to leave by the end of this year under an existing agreement.

From a high of about 165,000 U.S. troops in 2008, there are now about 39,000 remaining as Iraqi forces assume greater responsibility for security.

The president said the U.S.-Iraq relationship now moves into a new phase, and discussions will continue on training and equipping Iraqi forces.

He invited Prime Minister Maliki to visit Washington in December, and said the U.S. will continue to have an interest in a stable, secure and self-reliant Iraq.